Connections made within walls must be made within electrical junction boxes and the space within a wall is frequently an obstacle in installing a standard electrical box. Electrical boxes must be used to make electrical connections even when mechanical features within the wall make using the box inconvenient. Such mechanical features may include ductwork or plumbing pipes. Often times an electrician installing an electrical box does not have an opportunity to provide input as to the location of such mechanical features and must work around them. In such situations where an electrician works on a job after finish contractors have installed wallboard or other wall covering material, the electrician must work within the confines of the situation he finds. In cases where plumbing or ductwork is behind the location where an electrical fixture is desired to be placed, moving the location of the electrical box to another location may not be an option.
Shallow electrical boxes exist for challenging installations that require working in locations where mechanical obstructions prevent installing an electrical box extending deep within a wall. Typically, existing electrical boxes have threaded fasteners such as screws that protrude into the wall and a screwdriver is used to turn heads located on the outwardly facing side of the box. Turning the screws usually causes tabs to extend outwardly to clamp the wall from behind, or some toggle part within the wall is used to attach the box to the wall. If such a box were to be removed, it would not be possible to retrieve the tabs or toggle parts within the wall because these parts will fall to the bottom of the wall as the screws are removed. Additionally, the screws in existing boxes usually extend behind the deepest part of the box within the wall. While an existing electrical box may be shallow, the attaching screws may extend into the wall much deeper, thus creating the potential to damage mechanical features within the wall.